LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – The Golden Eagle football team claimed their first win of the season and the first for new head coach
Raymond Monica, dominating Lock Haven on the road for a 44-7 victory at Hubert Jack Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
If one was drawing up a formula for winning a game on the road, the Golden Eagle victory would rank as a textbook example. Clarion controlled the clock with another punishing effort in the run game, carrying 51 times for 270 yards and a 5.3 yards per carry average. That, coupled with a 7-of-12 conversion rate on third down, allowed them to neutralize the Lock Haven offense, as the Golden Eagles possessed the ball for 36:10 of game action.
Conversely, the defense was highly effective in getting themselves off the field, holding Lock Haven to just a 1-for-11 on third down and forcing a pair of turnovers. One of those turnovers helped the Golden Eagles to their first scoring drive of the day, with Clarion taking possession after just two Bald Eagle plays. On a 2
nd-and-5 from the Lock Haven 20,
Ryan Stahl dislodged the ball from running back DeAndre Wakefield and
Jake Tarburton was there to recover. The Golden Eagles methodically worked the ball down the field, with
Zach Benedek ultimately punching it in from a yard out to give Clarion a 7-0 lead.
The quarterback finished with nine carries for 37 yards and a touchdowns, and also completed 14-of-19 pass attempts for 228 yards and two scores. He connected with
Andy Martin on a 52-yard bomb on the Golden Eagles' second possession of the day, whipping the ball downfield for a score that ultimately made it 13-0 with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter.
Given the benefit of an early lead, the Golden Eagle ground game and defense worked hand-in-hand to silence the Lock Haven offense. Other than a 30-yard touchdown pass from Easton Turner to Marquon Williams late in the first quarter, the Bald Eagles were not able to get anything going with the ball, finishing with just 305 yards of offense.
Khalil Owens finished as the leading rusher in the game, toting the rock 23 times for 124 yards and a score.
Corahn Alleyne had 53 yards on three carries and two scores, while
Michael Akinleye also checked into the game for 40 yards on 10 attempts.
Defensively, the Golden Eagles sacked Lock Haven quarterbacks six times, with
Robert Lachmann reaching the quarterback for three sacks on the day. Tarburton,
Alex Huzicka and
Daryl Davis also finished with sacks.
Drew Blon picked off Turner for his first interception of the season.
Kicker
Trent McDowell upped Clarion's lead to 16-7 early in the second quarter with a 23-yard mark, and the Golden Eagles authored another long scoring drive in the half later in the half to make it a three-score game. Benedek converted a 3
rd-and-7 with a short pass to
Tony Powell to keep the drive alive, and did so again three plays later with a shot to
Ty Corbin that put his team in Lock Haven territory. Owens converted a 2
nd-and-5 with a five-yard run to bring it down to the 31-yard line and Alleyne did the rest, running 31 yards on a sweep for a touchdown to cap the drive.
The Golden Eagles got the ball back to start the second half, and Owens got his chance to reach the end zone to polish off a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive. Other than a 13-yard pass from Benedek to Corbin to put the ball on the Clarion 44-yard line, the Golden Eagles exclusively kept the ball on the ground and imposed their will. Owens converted one third down with a three-yard run on 3
rd-and-1 and later broke a big one on first down, rumbling 32 yards down to the Lock Haven one-yard line. Two plays later he cracked the plane, scoring to pump the lead to 30-7.
Clarion halted Lock Haven on their next drive, forcing a turnover on downs after
Robert Lachmann flushed Turner and helped force an incompletion in Golden Eagle territory. That sparked another scoring drive, with Benedek hitting
Zack Kindel from 14 yards out to make it 37-7. Alleyne added another rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, scoring from 18 yards out to set the final deficit at 44-7.
